Sunday, November 13, 2016

Help Me Understand

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood." - Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Ok, Trump-supporters, there are some things I don't understand and I need you to explain them to me.

I've seen a lot of you claiming Trump is a morally superior candidate to Clinton. Please explain this, because I just can't see it. The explanations I've run across so far are unconvincing.

"Clinton is a liar." True, but so is Trump. If you believe he's an honest person, God help your soul.

"Clinton is corrupt" or "Clinton is a criminal." Again, this is true, but so is Trump. If you think Trump hasn't done thousands of unethical and illegal things throughout his business career, I've got a lovely bridge to sell you.

"Clinton is motivated only by self-interest." I thought we covered this already. So is Trump.

All of these criticisms of Clinton are true, but they are just as true of Trump. They do not distinguish the two major party candidates. You need to give me a better reason than that.

"Clinton is Pro-Choice." - True. Where Trump actually stands on this issue is debatable, as he has endorsed both sides. Call me a cynic, but I think his more recent endorsement of the Pro-Life stance, which happens to coincide with the viewpoint of the majority of members of the political party he joined in order to run for president, is motivated by self-interest rather than deep conviction of the value of fetal life.

"Trump is a Christian." Oh, is he now? Jesus said we can recognize his followers by their actions. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." If you say you voted for Trump because you believe he represents the more Christ-like stance, I challenge you to show me three examples in which he shows the fruit of the Spirit.

This is the real issue I have with all of my Christian friends who voted for Trump. I know we were all raised to believe that conservatism is equated to moral superiority, but when the conservative candidate is Donald J. Trump, how can you justify that?

I firmly believe that Jesus would never support Trump (or Clinton, for that matter). Jesus advocated love for all, embracing those who are different from you, and protecting the poor and oppressed.

I firmly believe that Jesus also would never riot or attack people who supported Trump, or any minority person.

What would Jesus do? He would engage people in discussion. He would treat people with respect. He would hold people accountable for their choices. He would preach and peacefully demonstrate. Quite possibly, he would flip some tables.

I'm ready to flip some tables in Jesus' name.

But first, I'm trying to understand and engage you all in a discussion. So I'll repeat my plea from the beginning of this essay: please explain to me why you think Trump is morally superior to Clinton.